Template:Wp-Sandwich, Kent-History

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Before Sandwich became a Cinque Port, the ancient Saxon town of Stonar on the bank of the Wantsum estuary ( on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Stour ), was already well established. It remained a place of considerable importance but it disappeared almost without trace in the 14th century. The ruins of the major Roman fort of Richborough are close by. It was the landing place of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. In 2008, an archaeological dig proved that this was a defensive site of a Roman beachhead, protecting 700 metres of coast.

In 1028 King Canute (–1035) granted a charter to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, to operate a ferry across the river and collect tolls. In 1192, returning from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart was jailed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Henry released Richard in February 1194. On 13 March 1194, Richard landed at the port of Sandwich and came back to England. In 1216, Prince Louis of France landed at Sandwich in support of the First Barons' War against King John. The Battle of Sandwich occurred just off the coast in 1217.

The Fisher Gate on the quay dates from 1384, and has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument. It is the only one of the original mediaeval town gates to survive. It is a Grade I listed building. The nearby Barbican dates from the 14th century and stands at the end of the bridge over the River Stour where it was used as a toll house.

On 28 August 1457, after four years of uneasy peace in England the king presided over a wasting realm, with feudal barons lording it over the population of the north and the west. The French took advantage of the situation by sending a raiding party to Kent, burning much of Sandwich to the ground. A force of around 4,000 men from Honfleur, under the command of Pierre de Brézé, Marshal of France, came ashore to pillage the town, in the process murdering the mayor, John Drury. It thereafter became an established tradition, which survives to this day, that the Mayor of Sandwich wears a black robe in mourning for this ignoble deed.

Sandwich later gained significantly from the skills brought to the town by many Flemish settlers, who were granted the right to settle by letters patent from Elizabeth I, dated 6 July 1561. Sandwich was the only town in England that housed more so-called "strangers" than native Englishmen in the 16th century. Historian Marcel Backhouse estimated there were at least 2,400 Flemish and 500 Walloon exiles living in Sandwich at the time. These settlers brought with them techniques of market gardening, and were responsible for growing the first English celery, which was already - and still is - very popular in Flanders. Elizabeth I granted 25 Flemish families permission to live in Sandwich, and St Peter became the "Stranger's Church" in 1564 when the plague came to the town, in an effort to halt the spread of the disease. The 1661 tower collapse was repaired by the Flemish community, and the distinctive tower reflects their work. The Huguenot refugees also brought over Flemish architectural techniques, that are now as much a part of Kent as the thatched cottage. One can still see the difference between the English (lower section) and Flemish (upper section) of the tower. In addition techniques of silk manufacture were imported, enhancing the Kent cloth industry.

The coat of arms of Sandwich is blazoned Per pale Gules and Azure three demi-Lions passant guardant in pale Or conjoined with as many sterns of demi-Ships Argent; see photo. It is one of the earliest heraldic examples of dimidiation, an early method of combining two different coats of arms: in this case the Royal Arms of England (1198–1340), Gules three lions passant guardant Or langued and armed Azure, and the Arms of the Cinque Ports, Azure three ships Or. The title Earl of Sandwich was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu (1625–72).

In 1759, Thomas Paine (1737–1809) had his home and shop in a house at 20 New Street. The house is now marked with a plaque and is a listed building.

In 1912 Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) built The Salutation in Queen Anne style. The gardens were laid out by Gertrude Jekyll. In World War I, Sandwich was important as a transit location for troops heading to Ypres.

In 1980 Jean Barker became, in the full recitation of her life peerage, Baroness Trumpington, of Sandwich in the County of Kent. In 2014 an original copy of Magna Carta, issued in 1300, was found together with a copy of the Charter of the Forest. It was only the second time in history that the two documents have been found together. They are now displayed alongside other historical artefacts in the Sandwich Guildhall Museum.